IERNA's Heating & Cooling Blog : Posts Tagged ‘Riverview’

There’s one option for heating and cooling in modern homes that’s been growing in popularity recently—and that’s the ductless mini split heat pump. Rather than functioning through a network of air ducts connected to an indoor air handler and evaporate unit, ductless systems basically break up the indoor unit and the blower fans to distribute conditioned air throughout your home in the form of mini air handlers, mounted on the wall.

If you’ve been in a home and seen something on the wall that resembles a window AC unit but it doesn’t go back through the wall, then you’re looking at a component of a ductless system. Those wall hanging units you see are each hooked up to a single outdoor unit, creating a central heat pump without ductwork. There are a number of benefits to these systems, however, they do come with unique needs when it comes to air conditioner repair in Riverview, FL.

One of the most important, yet often forgotten about, parts of your plumbing system is the drain and sewer system. If this section of plumbing isn’t working right or isn’t properly maintained, then you could find yourself facing serious issues.

Fortunately, though, it’s pretty simple to keep your drain system in good shape. All you need to do is make sure that you schedule Riverview, FL plumbing services on a regular basis—in particular, drain cleaning services. But how do you know if you actually need a thorough drain cleaning?

When you live in our area, using your air conditioner to keep cool on a daily basis is pretty much a year-round necessity. Therefore, you should always be keeping a close eye out in case any problems develop. Issues are most likely to develop with AC systems during the summer season—particularly near the end of it—when demand on the system is at its greatest.

This means that right now should be when you are the most watchful for any signs that your system needs professional air conditioning repair in Riverview, FL. One of the most common indicators that something is, in fact, wrong with your cooling system is if odd noises are coming from it during its daily operation. Keep reading to learn some of the more common AC noises that should be cause for concern.

When you think about your Riverview, FL plumbing system and the things that can go wrong with it, you probably envision drain clogs, massive leaks, or maybe even broken sewer lines due to tree roots. But how often do you think about the quality of the water making its way through all of those pipes in your home?

It’s true, the Hillsborough County water & sewer municipality does an effective job of supplying us with clean and reliable drinking and potable water. But even the best municipal supply cannot always prevent the presence of hard water. Hard water is a description given to water that has high levels of minerals in it, namely magnesium and calcium.

Thermostat technology has made incredible progress over the past couple of decades. From manual, to digital, to programmable, homeowners are being given more and more control over how their indoor climate is regulated. Now, the next step in that progression has arrived in the form of Nest thermostats. Let’s examine what the Nest thermostat is, and why you should consider installing one in your home.

Adaptability

By now, homeowners know about programmable thermostats. Most digital thermostats are now equipped with options for day and night cycles, as well as days of the week. Pretty much any time of day can have its own dedicated setting with programmable thermostats, and this is a very good thing. The problem is that a lot of these options are hidden behind complicated button combinations and menu settings. Nest is a different kind of animal altogether.

Nest thermostats revolve around an extremely simple and efficient design. You turn the temperature up, or down, and over the first few days the Nest thermostat will begin to learn from your heating and cooling habits. Eventually, the thermostat will set the temperature for you without instruction. If you keep turning your thermostat off at night to save energy, the Nest will remember to turn itself off even if you forget.

You can also set the Nest thermostat to have an energy-saving away temperature when you’re out of the house. This prevents it from wasting energy heating an empty home. In a similar manner, Nest has several ways to make suggestions regarding saving money on heating. When you’re adjusting the thermostat and a small leaf appears on the display, that’s Nest telling you that you’re saving energy and money.

Interconnectivity

In keeping with our increasingly online lifestyles, the Nest thermostat is capable of remote capabilities. If you’re driving home after a long day, and you don’t want the house to be freezing when you get home, just open the Nest app on your phone and set the temperature you want. By the time you get home, your house will be nice and comfortable.

Because the ductwork in a home is primarily hidden behind construction material such as drywall and flooring, homeowners are rarely conscious of the condition of their ventilation system. If the integrity of ductwork becomes compromised, however, it will result in serious problems for a home’s HVAC system: a loss of airflow from the vents, insufficient heating and cooling power, increased energy bills, and the infiltration of contamination into the ducts that will then flow into the living spaces.

If you suspect that your ductwork may have damage that requires repairs, the best way to know for certain—and to find out the extent and type of repairs necessary—is to call for professional duct testing. Our indoor air quality team at Ierna’s Heating & Cooling performs duct testing in Riverview, FL and the surrounding areas, and we offer numerous repair services to fix the problems afterwards. Call us today to schedule testing for your ductwork.

What professional duct testing may discover

During duct testing, our team seals up all the registers in your home and then places the entirety of the ventilation system under high air pressure. We then measure the pressure level to see how far it drops and use sensing devices to find places where air is escaping from the ducts. This tells us what is wrong, where it is occurring, and its extent.

One of the most common issues that duct testing uncovers is poor joints and connectors. Sometimes this is the fault of inferior installation work, which is one of the reasons that you should always employ professionals when you need to have new ducts installation or replacements. Custom ductwork design can help make for a more seamless fit during installation.

Poor sealing and broken joints along the ducts are also common problems that duct testing will discover. Another issue that can occur, and is often a problem for a humid place like Florida, is holes developing in the ducts due to corrosion or mold and mildew growth. If this is a problem for your ducts, you will also want to have professional cleaning done or the installation of UV germicidal lights to combat future problems.

Along with providing high quality duct testing in Riverview, FL, Ierna’s Heating & Cooling has full services for indoor air quality that includes duct sealing, custom duct designing, and installation of UV germicidal lights to get rid of mold infiltrations.

When you suspect that your ducts need help, contact us for the testing that will tell you what needs to be done—and let us take it from there.

You care about comfort in your mobile home, but it can be difficult to find an HVAC system that is the right size. Most heating and air conditioning systems are designed for larger homes, and indoor installation can take up a lot of space. That’s why the folks at Ierna’s Heating & Cooling recommend packaged HVAC systems for mobile homes in Riverview. Bryant offers a full line of packaged air conditioners and heat pumps that are great for cooling and heating mobile homes throughout the year. Learn more about your options in this quick guide.

Bryant Packaged Air Conditioners

Most air conditioners have two main components, an indoor evaporator unit and an outside condenser unit. However, your mobile home may not have space for indoor installation, which is why a packaged air conditioner may be just right for you. Packaged air conditioners combine every component of a central air conditioner into a single cabinet, so it can sit right outside your mobile home and a technician can connect it directly to the ducts.

If you are concerned about the initial cost, Bryant offers an efficient entry-level Legacy series air conditioner or a mid-range Preferred series unit. But for even greater efficiency, you may consider the 15 SEER Evolution packaged AC system to significantly cut cooling costs.

Bryant Packaged Heat Pumps

Alternatively, you might consider a packaged heat pump. Bryant also offers these systems from either the Legacy, Preferred, or Evolution series. A heat pump is a particularly unique system in that it can provide efficient heating and cooling. In the cooling season, it works just like an AC, using refrigerant to absorb heat from your home and circulate cool air through the ducts. When you need heating, refrigerant flows in reverse, pulling heat from the outside air to move into your home. This makes it extremely efficient for heating as it only moves heat rather than generating. And while it may not work well for heating if temperatures drop too low, it’s perfect for the Florida weather.

The specialists at Ierna’s Heating & Cooling are proud installers of Brant HVAC systems for mobile homes in Riverview. Call us today!

Generators pose an interesting challenge when it comes to repairs. With most important appliances for your home, you use them on a regular basis. But with a generator, you hope that you don’t have to use it regularly. In fact, you hope that you don’t have to use it all. Its main purpose most of its lifespan is to provide you with the assurance that should your home encounter a long-term power loss, you will have a backup to keep your essential services working to protect you and your family.

And because the generator rarely needs to work, it can be difficult to tell if it requires repairs. It’s vital to know if there is a malfunction, because you don’t want to find yourself stuck in a power outage with a generator that won’t turn on. But there are some ways to tell that a generator needs preventive repairs. Contact Ierna’s Heating & Cooling whenever you think you need generator repair in Riverview, FL. We can deliver same-day emergency service.

Here’s ways to tell you need generator repairs done

Through regular maintenance: The best way to make sure a generator is ready to do its job when the time comes is to have it receive regular maintenance from professionals. In general, you should have maintenance done twice a year, before storm season and soon afterwards. A maintenance technician will run tests of the system to see if there are faulty connections, stale fuel, or fuel supply problems. The check after the storm season will make sure that the unit hasn’t sustained damage. Maintenance will also keep the engine lubricated and handle oil changes, which are essential for a properly operating generator.

Running tests on your own: Every few months, turn your generator on for a short time. Make sure that it starts quickly without encountering trouble (starting problems often indicate the fuel supply is going stale and needs re-filling) and is able to provide the power levels you need. Listen for any odd noises from the unit that could indicate wear and tear. If anything seems amiss, call for professionals right away.

The unit sustains damage: Make a visual check on the generator occasionally to see that it hasn’t sustained any physical damage from weather conditions or human interference. It’s a good idea to make one of these visual checks (as well as perform a test run) after any major storm—even if you didn’t experience a power outage.

We cannot emphasize enough the importance of regular generator maintenance. It is easy to let a generator slip from your thoughts during a long period of serene weather, but storms and power outages can strike suddenly, and you don’t want to discover you require repair work right when you need the generator the most.

Call up Ierna’s Heating & Cooling to arrange for maintenance today so you can have any necessary generator repair in Riverview, FL done in time for storm season.

There are a lot of factors that you must consider when purchasing a new heating or cooling system for your Tampa home. One of the most important of these factors is ensuring that you get the most efficient heating or cooling system that you can, taking your budget into consideration. Manufacturers have made this a little easier by providing easy to find efficiency rating information about their products. If you do not understand what these efficiency ratings mean, though, here are some of the common acronyms you may see along with a description of what they mean. For more information, contact the experts at Ierna’s Heating & Cooling.

SEER – SEER is used to measure the efficiency of air conditioners and the cooling performance of heat pumps. It stands for seasonal energy efficiency ratio. The higher the SEER the more efficiently the air conditioner or heat pump will be able to cool your home. New products are required to have a SEER of 13 or more, though the rating can go into the 20’s.

AFUE – AFUE is the measurement of how efficiently a furnace operates. It stands for annual fuel utilization efficiency. The higher the AFUE rating the less fuel is wasted in the heating process. Obviously the more fuel that your furnace is able to successfully and completely use the better the efficiency level of that furnace will be. The industry minimum for AFUE ratings is 78%.

HSPF – Standing for heating seasonal performance factor, HSPF ratings are assigned to evaluate the efficiency with which a heat pump is able to heat a building. The high the number the more efficient the heat pump is. New heat pumps must have a minimum of 6.8 HSPF.

Before deciding on a new Tampa air conditioning system be sure to ask questions and do a bit of research. You may not be able to afford the most efficient system available, but you should purchase the system with the highest efficiency level that you can afford. Over time the energy savings will help to offset the initial investment. Make your home a more comfortable and efficient place to live. Contact Ierna’s Heating & Cooling today.

If the heating system in your home isn’t installed right the first time, it can cause a lot of problems down the road. At Ierna’s Heating and Cooling, we’ve installed countless heating systems of all types for our customers throughout the Land O’ Lakes area. We thought it would be helpful if we put together a quick list of some of the common signs that might indicate poor heating installation.

Wrong Size Heating System

When we talk about the size of the heating system we’re not referring to the physical measurements of it. We’re talking about the heat output. Heating systems are designed for different sized structures. If your home has a heating system that is too big or too small, it can cause some pretty significant problems. Here are just a couple of them:

Inefficient – When you have a heating system that is too big or small, it will have to work harder to heat your home. For example, if you have a furnace that’s too big, it will turn on, quickly heat your home then shut off. A short time later, it will turn on again and do the same. This is called short cycling. It is highly inefficient because of all the stopping and starting—similar to driving your car in traffic.

Wear and tear – If you have a heating system that is too small, it will run constantly in an effort to heat your home. Not only is this inefficient, it is also very hard on your equipment. Short cycling is also very difficult for your heating system.

Bad Ductwork

Ducts are an often-overlooked part of many heating systems. It is responsible for carrying all of the heated air throughout your home. Here are some of the common installation mistakes that we see in homes in Land O’ Lakes:

Wrong size ducts – Ducting comes in a variety of standard sizes. However, these sizes are not always the best for your particular application. In these cases, you might have ductwork that is too small or too big for your heating system. Similar to the problem of wrong-sized heating system, improperly sized ducts cause the same type of problems.

Unnecessary bends and/or pinches – If your ducts were installed poorly, there might be some issues that could be reducing your efficiency and making your system work harder. In general, ducts are installed with the fewest amount of turns. Ductwork should also no pinch at any point. Both of these things ensure that the air takes the easiest path from the furnace to your room. With shoddy ductwork, there might be bends that don’t need to be there and there might be pinches from poor craftsmanship.